#reindeerselfie: Am I doing this right?
See Frosty and Holiday, two actual reindeer at the California Academy of Sciences through the month of December.
Does Making Belong in Museums? Experts from AMNH, Pittsburgh Childrens & Lawrence Hall of Science Weigh In
Okay, it took awhile to get out episode three of our podcast "Object Oriented," but we are pretty excited about this one. In this episode, Eve, Barry and tackle one of the most exciting new trends in museums and other learning institutions: the Maker Movement. I begin with the basic but complicated question of whether …
Cool Interview with Cal Academy Ant Expert Brian Fisher
Watch this beautifully shot profile of entomologist Brian Fisher. A researcher at the California Academy of Sciences, Brian shares what he loves about his work in the field and studying ants in particular. "You can't see much when you see them on the ground. But put them under a microscope and they just dazzle you …
Teaching Genetic Engineering Using Common Office Supplies
This week, I had to quickly come up with a more interactive way to teach our TechTeens about genetic engineering, since they had chosen a topic for their next blog post on creating genetically modified pets. I don't have a background in microbiology or genetics, so was a little stumped. In a pinch, I threw …
My Teens Are Too Smart for My Schemes
Conversation with Alex, one of our TechTeens : Alex: Why does it have to be a "competition" when you have us make stuff? Me: It's to motivate you to do your best. People like competitions. Alex: But we already work hard, whether you make it a competition or not. Besides, you always give the winning team …
“Media Moral Gray Areas”: A Fun Activity about Intellectual Property and Ethics
I love teaching teens about intellectual property. I get a lot of puzzled looks whenever I say this among other educators, but it’s true. Teens are so much more media-savvy than I was as a young person, since their lives are so immersed in media wherever they are. They are constantly consuming music, photos, videos, digital games …
Meet Moises Bernal, Cal Academy Fish Biologist
Check out this neat video portrait of Moises Bernal, one our of ichthyologists (fish biologists) at the California Academy of Sciences. Lots of neat details about what he gets to do as a scientist at the Academy, what makes his job fun, and why he does it. "When you go to the field and you …
Flipside Science: New Youth-powered Series on Environmental Issues & Solutions
The California Academy of Sciences just launched Flipside Science, a youth-powered series designed for K-12 classrooms that inspires solutions-based thinking about the environment. I'm super proud of the work that our Academy youth Spurgeon, Ice, Darrah and Madeleine put into these videos, as well as our incredible visualization studio team that produced the videos. …
Science Costume Idea: Steampunk Entomologist!
You know how you make anything cooler? You make a steampunk version of it! Okay, maybe not. But I had some vaguely steampunk-ish items lying around the apartment, and a museum full of science apparatus and toys. So this was the best I could come up with. So here it is: STEAMPUNK ENTOMOLOGIST. Complete with …
DML 2016 Announced: October 5-7 at UC Irvine, California
Interesting news in the digital learning field. It looks like there will be a 2016 Digital Media and Learning conference, despite MacArthur Foundation ending their support for the DML area this year. *Save the Date!* The 2016 DML Conference will be held Oct. 5-7, 2016 at @UCIrvine. More info coming soon. #2016DML pic.twitter.com/Ffg8sH0jOo — DML2016 (@dmlconference) …